Amid those shifting sands, Sterk said he received assurance that California State University Chancellor Charles Reed is committed to SDSU athletics in the long term.

“Chancellor Reed understands where athletics fits in the strategic planning of San Diego State University,” Sterk said. “I wouldn’t have come here if there were any indecision on that at all.”

So why did he come here?

A native of Bellingham, Wash., Sterk has spent most of his life in the Pacific Northwest. He had a job as an established athletic director in the Pac-10 Conference, a league with much more revenue and media exposure than SDSU’s Mountain West Conference. Some Washington and Oregon media suggested Sterk was leaving to escape mounting problems at WSU, including two less-than-exciting recent football coach hires and a struggle to raise funds to renovate the football stadium there.

Sterk and WSU President Elson Floyd said he was not forced out.

“Our athletic programs are stronger because of his leadership,” Floyd said in a statement.

Said Sterk: “We had the opportunity to stay. I think we could have, but this opportunity presented itself, and we decided to accept it.”

Sterk had two years left on his WSU contract and said Floyd offered him a contract extension about two weeks ago. He said he had previously talked to his family about leaving and felt the time was right for a change, especially with one of his three daughters soon to be graduating from high school.

Sterk outlined five areas of emphasis at his new job: 1. Enhancing the “student-athlete experience, on and off the field.” 2. Personnel. “Without a great staff and coaches, I can do nothing,” he said. 3. Generating excitement in the community about the Aztecs. 4. Facilities and remaining competitive with those in relation with the competition. 5. Improving resources and fundraising.

“Let me tell you why we hired Jim Sterk,” Weber said. “He is a person of unqualified integrity. He has been successful with a budget similar to ours. Washington State has sent 13 teams to NCAA postseason competition in the last three years. He increased fundraising at Washington State from $3 million in 2000 to $13 million in 2008 (Sterk’s WSU bio says it was $8 million in 2008). In the last 10 years, 92 percent of Washington State student-athletes who exhausted their eligibility graduated.”